NFIP records · Beaufort County · policies as of July 31, 2026
Flood insurance in Beaufort County, South Carolina
That is 2% below the South Carolina median of $883 and 18% below the U.S. median of $1,055; 11th lowest of 22 South Carolina counties with 100+ priced policies.
Check your address on FEMA's flood map →Your flood zone is set at your exact address and drives your price and whether coverage is required. Look it up first, then read your zone's row in "What does it cost in my flood zone?" below.
Built from all 30,417 in-force NFIP policy records and 4,968 claim records FEMA publishes for Beaufort County, downloaded October 25, 2026 with every record for South Carolina, matched to FEMA's own count for the state, none missing. Download the figures on this page (CSV) · How we check them
Is my quote or renewal normal here?
Type your yearly flood cost (premium plus fees, as on your bill) to see where it sits among Beaufort County's existing single-family policies. This is a comparison, not a quote.
Enter an amount above.
Am I required to carry it?
Only if your home is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and your mortgage is from a federally regulated lender, or federal help to buy or build (42 U.S.C. §4012a). Check your zone on FEMA's flood map.
41.5% of Beaufort County's NFIP policies are in high-risk zones (not 41.5% of all buildings, and not an answer about your own home).
| Flood zone | Policies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Zone X | 25,866 | 55.2% |
| Zone AE (high-risk) | 17,119 | 36.6% |
| Zone A07 (high-risk) | 1,082 | 2.3% |
| Zone C | 847 | 1.8% |
| Zone B | 665 | 1.4% |
| Other or unclassified zones | 1,252 | 2.7% |
Insured units by the flood zone each policy is rated in (a condo-building policy counts each unit). Outside those zones the federal requirement drops, but a lender can still require coverage.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Policies. Data effective July 31, 2026; retrieved October 25, 2026.
Source: govinfo.gov, federalreserve.gov (official pages, checked October 25, 2026). Not endorsed by FEMA.
I'm outside the high-risk zone. Do floods happen there?
Yes. 24.6% of the flood-insurance claim money paid in Beaufort County went to homes outside the high-risk zones, which hold 58.5% of policies here: less per policy than inside the high-risk zone, but not zero.
- Claim dollars paid outside A/V zones24.6%South Carolina: 19.0%
- Policies outside A/V zones58.5%
- Zone X median cost$710
Insured claims only, by each policy's rated zone. Whether a lender can require coverage outside these zones is under “Am I required to carry it?”
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Claims; FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Policies. Data effective claims 1979–2026; policies July 31, 2026; retrieved October 25, 2026.
How much does it cost here?
Typically about $864 a year ($72 a month), fees included. Half of homeowners here pay between $615 and $1,086. To check a quote, use the checker at the top.
Low end $615 · Typical $864 · High end $1,086 · Highest tenth pay $1,442 or more
Each policy's annual cost (premium plus the federal policy fee, reserve fund assessment and HFIAA surcharge), single-family primary residences. The bar is the middle half of policies, from 19,366 single-family primary-home policies.
Coverage in force: $10.8 billion of building and $2.5 billion of contents coverage across all Beaufort County policies.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Policies. Data effective July 31, 2026; retrieved October 25, 2026.
How do I actually get covered — and how fast?
Buy it now: most policies start 30 days after you buy, but there's no wait if you buy it with a new or refinanced mortgage.
- Waiting period30 days
- Bought with a new or refinanced mortgageNo wait
- NFIP building limit$250,000
- NFIP contents limit$100,000
Most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage; flood insurance is bought separately, through the federal NFIP or a private insurer. Exceptions: no wait if you buy while making, increasing, extending or renewing a mortgage, or change coverage at renewal; a one-day wait if a map revision puts the property in a high-risk zone and you buy within 13 months of the revision (44 CFR §61.11). NFIP covers up to $250,000 on the building and $100,000 on contents, which is a separate policy. To buy: call the NFIP at (877) 336-2627, go to FloodSmart.gov, or ask any licensed insurance agent. Every NFIP insurer offers the same rates.
Already flooded? Insured: report the loss to your insurance agent or company now (FEMA's steps: how to start a flood claim). Not insured: a policy bought today will not cover a flood that already happened, and FEMA disaster aid is open to people in counties designated in a federally declared disaster. Past aid paid here is in “Did the government pay homeowners after floods?” below.
Source: floodsmart.gov, govinfo.gov, fema.gov (official pages, checked October 25, 2026). Not endorsed by FEMA.
What do floods actually pay out here?
Floods here have led to 4,968 NFIP flood claims and $80.6 million in payouts since 1979; the worst years were 2016, 2017 and 1994.
Orange bars are the three costliest years: 2016 ($55,288,763), 2017 ($14,180,302), 1994 ($3,150,684). Total paid $80,559,731: net building + contents payments by year of loss. Claims are matched by the claims dataset's county code, which may not exactly match a policy's property county.
That is 4,968 claims since 1979 against 46,831 policies in force today — a cumulative tally spanning ~48 years over a present-day snapshot, not an annual claim rate or a flood probability.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Claims. Data effective 1979–2026; retrieved October 25, 2026.
Do flood claims here actually pay out?
Most do: 62.6% of claims here paid something. The average paid claim was $25,971.
- Average paid claim$25,971South Carolina: $29,792
- Closed with no payment37.4%South Carolina: 29.8%
- Claims that paid3,109
FEMA lists reasons a claim closes without payment, such as damage below the deductible, no flood as the policy defines it, or seepage and drain backup the policy does not cover. The average is over claims that paid something; a single home can file across several floods over the years.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Claims. Data effective 1979–2026; retrieved October 25, 2026.
Why do flood claims here go unpaid?
Of the 1,859 claims here closed without payment, the top reason FEMA recorded was “damage less than the deductible” (617 claims).
| Reason recorded | Claims |
|---|---|
| Damage less than the deductible | 617 |
| Not an actual flood | 357 |
| No demonstrable damage | 222 |
The building non-payment reason on each NFIP claim closed with nothing paid. Records marked “other” or entered in error are left out.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Claims. Data effective 1979–2026; retrieved October 25, 2026.
Which floods paid out the biggest totals here?
The costliest single flood here was Hurricane Matthew (2016): $55.2 million across 1,679 NFIP flood claims.
| Flood (FEMA's name) | Claims | Total paid | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Matthew (2016) | 1,679 | $55.2 million | $32,856 |
| Hurricane Irma (2017) | 570 | $14.0 million | $24,563 |
| Hurricane Debby (2024) | 29 | $791,232 | $27,284 |
| Hurricane Elsa (2021) | 6 | $553,964 | $92,327 |
| Hurricane Hugo (1989) | 14 | $396,458 | $28,318 |
| Hurricane Hanna (2008) | 4 | $379,665 | $94,916 |
| October severe storms (2015) | 13 | $306,968 | $23,613 |
NFIP claims that were paid, grouped by the flood event FEMA assigned (FEMA's name). Claims with no event, or a catch-all label spanning many years, are left out.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Claims. Data effective 1979–2026; retrieved October 25, 2026.
Would a policy here pay to rebuild my home?
Not in full for 66.6% of insured single-family homes here: FEMA's records put their rebuilding cost above the NFIP's $250,000 building limit.
- Rebuilding cost above the building limit (of 12,942 policies reporting one)66.6%South Carolina: 54.8%
- Carry the maximum building coverage92.6%
- Damage was more than the coverage (of 3,042 claims paid with a damage figure)0.7%
NFIP covers up to $250,000 on the building and $100,000 on contents, which is a separate policy. Rebuilding cost is the replacement-cost figure on each single-family primary-home policy record.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Policies; FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Claims. Data effective July 31, 2026; retrieved October 25, 2026.
Source: floodsmart.gov (official pages, checked October 25, 2026). Not endorsed by FEMA.
What does it cost in my flood zone?
From about $634 a year (Zone C) to $1,083 (Zone B) here. Your zone is on your lender's flood determination or FEMA's map; find its row below.
| Flood zone | Median / yr | Policies |
|---|---|---|
| Zone X | $710 | 12,216 |
| Zone AE | $1,075 | 5,209 |
| Zone C | $634 | 705 |
| Zone B | $1,083 | 390 |
| Zone A07 | $1,081 | 295 |
| Zone A | $710 | 126 |
| Zone A08 | $929 | 121 |
| Zone A10 | $1,074 | 103 |
| Zone A09 | $846 | 64 |
Zones with fewer than 50 priced single-family policies are omitted. Your own premium still depends on elevation and coverage.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Policies. Data effective July 31, 2026; retrieved October 25, 2026.
Find your ZIP in this county
Costs vary by ZIP here, from about $614 to $1,162 a year among the largest. Type yours to see its own figures.
Enter a five-digit ZIP above.
| ZIP | Median annual cost | Policy units |
|---|---|---|
| 29928 | $1,123 | 20,624 |
| 29926 | $924 | 8,092 |
| 29910 | $614 | 5,047 |
| 29909 | $645 | 4,511 |
| 29920 | $1,056 | 3,111 |
| 29907 | $922 | 1,893 |
| 29902 | $929 | 1,642 |
| 29906 | $696 | 980 |
Median shown only for ZIPs with 25 or more priced single-family policies; smaller ZIPs show count only.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Policies. Data effective July 31, 2026; retrieved October 25, 2026.
How do current premiums compare with FEMA's full-risk price?
44.3% of bills here can keep rising: they pay less than FEMA's full-risk price. Those prices step up toward full-risk each year, limited by the yearly cap. Median premium $671, full-risk $736 (premiums only, before fees).
- Median premium charged (before fees)$671
- Median full-risk premium$736
- Pay below full-risk44.3% of 19,366South Carolina: 42.9%
Years to the full-risk price: By law most premiums cannot rise more than 18% a year (FloodSmart puts it at 18–25% for most policyholders); the cap usually does not apply to new policies, and fees and surcharges sit outside it. At the 18% cap, a policy at today's median premium ($671) would take at least about 1 annual renewal to reach the median full-risk premium ($736). This is the limit on how fast a bill can climb, not a forecast of any one policy.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Policies. Data effective July 31, 2026; retrieved October 25, 2026.
Can I pay less than the sticker price?
Yes, in 4 of the 5 towns here: up to 25% off in Beaufort County. It applies to every eligible policy there. Find your town below.
| Community | High-risk zone | Other areas | CRS class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaufort County | 25% | 10% | 5 |
| Hilton Head Island | 25% | 10% | 5 |
| Beaufort | 20% | 10% | 6 |
| Port Royal | 5% | 5% | 9 |
No CRS discount (1): Bluffton.
The Community Rating System cuts NFIP premiums for every eligible policy in a community that does extra flood work. The discount shown is the community's rate; what share of its policies currently receive it is not in this data. Confirm with your agent.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Community Status Book (CRS). Data effective current Community Status Book; retrieved October 25, 2026.
How much flood risk is here?
Relatively Moderate for rivers and heavy rain and Relatively High for coastal flooding, by FEMA's county rating. That compares this county with others; it is not a forecast for your address.
- Coastal flood riskRelatively High
- Inland flood riskRelatively Moderate
This is FEMA's plain risk rating for the county, a comparison — not a prediction for your home. The rating multiplies expected flood loss by a community factor for social vulnerability and resilience; the percentile below is expected loss alone, so the two can differ. Coastal: expected annual flood loss above about 89% of U.S. counties; FEMA models roughly $9,822,036 of flood loss a year across all its buildings. Inland: expected annual flood loss above about 6% of U.S. counties; FEMA models roughly $19,667,518 of flood loss a year across all its buildings. Any loss figure is a whole-county estimate across all buildings, never one home's expected loss or premium.
Source: FEMA — National Risk Index (flood). Data effective NRI 2023 release; retrieved October 25, 2026.
How often has it actually flooded here?
46 flood events here since 1996, by the weather service's count, with about $25,500 in reported property damage.
- Flood events logged46
- Reported property damage$25,500
Physical flood events recorded by the National Weather Service for this county (1996 on), separate from insured NFIP claims — it counts floods that happened, insured or not. Damage figures are NWS field estimates, not audited, and undercount in early years.
Source: NOAA NCEI — Storm Events Database. Data effective 1996-2025; retrieved October 26, 2026.
How often do the same homes flood here?
Some homes here flood again and again: 6 flood-damage applications in FEMA's disaster-aid records came from homes that flooded more than once.
- Repeat-flood damage records6
One home appears once for each declared disaster that damaged it, so this counts damage events on repeat-flooded homes, not distinct homes (FEMA says these records cannot be totaled by property). Disaster-aid applications since 2002, separate from NFIP insurance claims.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — Repetitive-Loss Flood Properties. Data effective FEMA's current list; retrieved October 26, 2026.
How Beaufort County compares across the state
Beaufort County is rated Relatively High: 6 of the state's 46 counties are rated the same or higher.
| FEMA flood-risk rating | Counties | Which |
|---|---|---|
| Very High | 1 | Charleston County |
| Relatively High | 5 | Beaufort County, Georgetown County, Greenville County, Horry County, Richland County |
| Relatively Moderate | 14 | |
| Relatively Low | 19 | |
| Very Low | 7 |
FEMA's National Risk Index rating (coastal and inland flooding, the worse of the two), a model of expected loss. Names are listed for the two highest ratings and for this county, in bold.
Source: FEMA — National Risk Index (flood). Data effective NRI 2023 release; retrieved October 25, 2026.
How many homes here carry flood insurance?
About 4 in 10 homes here have flood insurance (39.7%). Inside the high-risk zone FEMA's rate is 102.0%: it counts more policies there than its own estimate of high-risk buildings, so the exact share is unknown.
- All homes insured39.7%South Carolina: 6.1%
- Residential policies in force28,198
FEMA's NFIP residential take-up rate — share of residential structures with an NFIP policy, overall and inside the Special Flood Hazard Area. NFIP only (excludes private flood insurance); the structure count is a FEMA estimate.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Residential Penetration Rates. Data effective August 3, 2026; retrieved October 25, 2026.
How often is this county a flood disaster?
11 federal disasters for floods or storms here; the latest was Tropical Storm Debby (2024).
- 2024 — Tropical Storm Debby
- 2024 — Hurricane Helene
- 2023 — Hurricane Idalia
- 2022 — Hurricane Ian
- 2019 — Hurricane Dorian
- 2018 — Hurricane Florence
Distinct storms by calendar year (one storm's emergency and major-disaster declarations are counted once), not individual declaration records.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — Disaster Declarations Summaries. Data effective declarations through 2026; retrieved October 25, 2026.
Did the government pay homeowners after floods?
Yes, but not much per household: FEMA approved $7.7 million for homeowners here, about $976 per registration, against an average paid flood claim of $25,971.
FEMA disaster aid helps with uninsured and underinsured losses, and is separate from NFIP insurance.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — Housing Assistance (Owners); FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Claims. Data effective owner registrations by disaster; retrieved October 25, 2026.
Reconciliation & data completeness
Our record counts match the API's own totals; FEMA's official policy count is not yet joined for Beaufort County.
In-force count: 46,831 policy units (from 30,417 API records; condo-association records carry more than one unit). Count reconciliation (not a snapshot proof): policies: 30,417 of 30,417 fetched; claims: 4,968 of 4,968 fetched.
What this data cannot tell you
- Your own premium — it depends on elevation, coverage and deductible. We show where existing policies fall.
- Private (non-NFIP) flood insurance prices.
- Your address's exact flood zone — use FEMA's Flood Map Service Center.
- Why any one premium changes — we show the gap to full-risk, not the cause.
- A year-over-year premium trend — the in-force snapshot holds only current-term policies, so a like-for-like multi-year index isn't possible from this data. A per-effective-year median is shown only where several years of policies exist.
The federal datasets behind this page
Every figure comes from a public U.S. federal dataset; estimates are labeled where they appear. This page joins 9 of them for Beaufort County. Last pulled October 26, 2026.
- FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Policies
- FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Claims
- FEMA — National Risk Index (flood)
- FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Community Status Book (CRS)
- FEMA OpenFEMA — Disaster Declarations Summaries
- FEMA OpenFEMA — Housing Assistance (Owners)
- FEMA OpenFEMA — Repetitive-Loss Flood Properties
- FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Residential Penetration Rates
- NOAA NCEI — Storm Events Database